Materia Medica by Kent

STANNUM METALLICUM

(stann)

Stannum is especially suited to persons who have long been growing feeble. This is so striking that it may be said that some deep-seated constitutional state must be present. There is a history of increasing weakness, cachexia, catarrhal conditions, and neuralgia dating back over years. There is sensitiveness to pain and an increasing aversion to doing anything, aversion to business in a man, and in a woman, to going about her housework; always tired, all work becomes irksome.

The countenance becomes increasingly sallow, even to a waxy, cachectic aspect. One who has been growing weaker and develops neuralgia of the face, eyes, stomach, and intestines; not the shooting, tearing pains often described, but a pain beginning gradually, increasing steadily and then diminishing gradually. The pain sometimes begins with sunrise, increases until noon and gradually diminishes, and ceases with sunset. On the other hand, it may begin at any time, as often at 10 A. M. and increasing for ten or twenty minutes, then gradually decrease until gone. A few other remedies have these sun headaches. KALMIA has a similar headache, not so regularly increasing and diminishing, but especially worse at noon. CACTUS has a sun headache. NATRUMMUR. has never been known to cause it, but has cured it, especially when beginning at 10 A. M. and worse from 2 to 3 p.m. SANG. has headache coming and going with the sun.

The phthisical tendency of Stannum is closely allied to the neuralgias. If these patients settle down into a neuralgic constitution, the deposit of tubercles is postponed, but most of them then seek palliation with the inevitable result of hastening the end. If the Stannum neuralgia is suppressed, we will see phthisis making its appearance, particularly phthisis pituitosa. Nature seems to be able to throw off effects through mucous discharges. If the neuralgia is not permitted to have sway the patient becomes oversensitive to cold, takes cold easily. When let alone every cold settled in the nerves and every draft caused neuralgias about the eyes, sensitive to every change in the weather, the hydrogenoid constitution of Grauvogl. But when palliated in any way by QUININE and inappropriate homeopathic remedies that have the tendency to catch cold in the chest like PHOS., he after a while does not get over his cold, but there is a continuous catarrh of the chest, and later he will die of miliary tuberculosis. Stannum is useful in warding off phthisis, and is a wonderful palliative in that disease.

The pain has been likened to the pulling of a string, gradually increasing and gradually letting up.

The PULS. pain is somewhat similar in its first half; it gradually becomes intense, but suddenly lets up with a snap; comes gradually and stops suddenly.

Remember what is said about the BELL. pain. It comes suddenly and reaches its intensity at once, where it may remain for hours, but ceases suddenly.

The Stannum pain is at times so severe that there is a throbbing pulsating intermingled with it, and the mind seems stunned.

"Headache every morning, over one or the other eye, mostly the left, gradually extending over the whole forehead and increasing and decreasing gradually, often with vomiting." "Violent, glowing, beating pain." It is sometimes attended with burning. "Felt as if the head would burst with inward blows. Neuralgia of the left eye gradually increasing from 10 a.m. to noon, then gradually decreasing, with lachrymation during pain. Intermittent supra-orbital neuralgia from 10 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m, gradually increasing and attaining its acme, and then again gradually decreasing, after the abuse of quinine." This is when the body is weak, with sallow countenance and tendency to phthisis, full of pain, and the earlier history shows that instead of taking cold in the chest or nose, as others take cold, every cold settles in the nerves. Finally he begins to take cold in the chest, with dyspnoea, violent, racking cough, gagging, retching, vomiting, and the most intense sufferings. Copious, thick, yellow-green, bloody expectoration, which tastes sweetish (PHOS.). Retching when coughing is marked; thick, white, yellow or green tenacious mucus. Cannot walk, cannot do anything without cough. Always tired; it is an effort to work. Wakens in the morning with the chest filled with mucus, and coughs and expectorates, and yet some remains; he gags, retches and vomits, and it strings out of the mouth TASTINGSWEETISH, sometimes salty or sour.

This great weakness is manifested in the voice; hoarseness, loss of voice; the vocal cords will not respond; a paralytic weakness. Talking makes him feel weak, especially in the chest. "Hoarseness, weakness, emptiness in the chest on beginning to sing, so that she was constantly obliged to stop and take a deep breath; at times a few expulsive coughs removed the hoarseness for a few minutes. Rawness in the larynx." Rawness in the trachea and smarting all the way down when coughing. Irritation to cough, as from mucus in the trachea; or breathing, with cough either loose or dry, felt more while sitting bent over than when walking. "Accumulation of great quantities of mucus in the trachea, easily thrown off by coughing. Oppressed breathing from ascending, from the slightest movement, when lying down, in the evening, from coughing." "Cough in fatiguing paroxysms; epigastric region painful as if beaten; violent, shattering, deep, short, from time to time, as from weakened chest, with a hoarse, weak sound. Cough caused by talking, singing, laughing, lying on the side and from drinking anything warm." "Sputa like white of EGG; yellow, green pus; sweetish, putrid, sour or saltish during day. Chest so weak that he cannot talk; empty feeling in the chest." This remedy is frequently indicated in cases where the routinist would prescribe BRY., etc., in low potencies to loosen the cough. Stannum is not dangerous in phthisis, and will palliate the case if it is incurable. It will not rouse up the whole economy like SILICA, but there may be an aggravation of the nervous symptoms; if there is anything to build on it will cause the patient to rally. If it brings back his old neuralgic pains, and you know he has not a long time to live, and seems to suffer much, PULS. is the natural antidote.

When a loose, easy cough is turned into one that is violent, dry and racking under Stannum, and seems to be inclined to be prolonged, PULS. will restore the loose cough. This is not a good action of the remedy; in incurable cases you can get the best results by not going too high.

Another feature is seen in women. If you ever meet with a case who has suffered with violent neuralgia and she says since the obliteration of these pains she has had a copious, thick, yellow, green leucorrhoea, think of Stannum. There is great weakness, which seems to proceed from the chest. The leucorrhoea has saved her from consumption.

Menses too early and too profuse; bearing down in the uterine region; prolapsus uteri and vaginas.

"Constipation; stools hard, dry, knotty, or insufficient and green." Inactive rectum, I.E, a paralytic state; even though there is much urging there is inability to pass the stool, which at times is soft. Colic better from pressure, lying on the stomach (COLOC, CUPR.); worse from motion; better from bending double.

"Very much exhausted from talking or reading aloud. Great lassitude from walking; weariness of the whole body, especially when ascending stairs; great sense of weakness in larynx and chest, thence all over the body; trembling worse from slow exercise."